2025 Indy 500 Sleepers: Dark Horses Who Can Win

• Team: Prema Racing
• Manufacturer: Chevrolet
• Chief Mechanic: Eric Leichtle
• 2025 IndyCar Standings: 24^th

Robert Shwartzman is the first rookie to claim the Indy 500 pole since Teo Fabi in 1983!

ROOKIE ROBERT SHWARTZMAN WINS THE POLE FOR THE 2025 INDY 500! pic.twitter.com/rI9t0MA9et

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 18, 2025

The 25-year-old is making his debut in the Indy 500, so that’s going against him. Nine rookies have won the race, though, most recently, Alexander Rossi in 2016. Shwartzman has also had a tough start to his IndyCar career, with five starts, but no finish better than 18^th. He just doesn’t have the equipment that the top teams have.

But Shwartzman is playing with house money at the Brickyard and is on the pole as an Indy 500 darkhorse. At +1600, there is a fantastic return to be had if he can pull off a major upset and hold off the field at IMS!

• Team: Ed Carpenter Racing
• Manufacturer: Chevrolet
• Chief Mechanic: N/A
• 2025 IndyCar Standings: 11^th

The aforementioned Rossi was the last rookie to win the Indy 500, and he has a good track record in Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rossi has finished outside the top 10 just twice in nine starts in the Indy 500, including a runner-up in 2019, and 4-5-5 in each of the last three years!

And rookie Alexander Rossi takes the checkered flag in the 100th running of the Indy 500! pic.twitter.com/GlWfrVSbhX

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 29, 2016

The 33-year-old has had an inconsistent start to 2025, although it is his first season with Ed Carpenter Racing, which won the 2021 Indy 500 with Rinus VeeKay. That said, that was the last time ECR won a race. Rossi’s last win came at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in 2022

But with a great track record at IMS, Rossi deserves a look as one of your Indy 500 longshots!

• Team: Team Penske
• Manufacturer: Chevrolet
• Chief Mechanic: David Faustino
• 2025 IndyCar Standings: 7^th

Power won this race in 2018 but has struggled in recent years here, which is why you’re getting a great return on his Indy 500 odds! Power has finished 5-14-30-15-23-24 since winning this race, but he is improving as of late. The Aussie started off the season with the 26^th-place run, but has gone 6-5-5-3 since then.

Can Josef Newgarden, Will Power make Indy 500 history by winning from back row? https://t.co/1tpKpDOisB

— IndyStarSports (@IndyStarSports) May 19, 2025

The two-time series champion will start from the back as the cars of Power and Penske teammate Josef Newgarden were found to be in violation of IndyCar rules. Obviously, that’s not optimal for Power, as he has to quickly, but carefully, make his way through the field.

But Power is still a very good open-wheel driver, and at +2000, the IndyCar sleeper odds for the veteran look pretty attractive for a solid return!

• Team: Meyer Shank Racing
• Manufacturer: Honda
• Chief Mechanic: N/A
• 2025 IndyCar Standings: N/A (Part-Time Driver)

Castroneves now races part-time in the IndyCar Series for Meyer Shank Racing, which has just one win in IndyCar since 2017. What was that win? It was Castroneves in the 2021 Indy 500.

Helio Castroneves celebrating his record tying 4th Indy 500 winpic.twitter.com/GZujSVq9Zh https://t.co/D3LY3YCchx

— Fifth Gear (@NotFifthGear) April 16, 2024

That was Castroneves’ fourth win in the Indy 500, which ties him with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., and Rick Mears for the most in the event’s history. The 50-year-old has raced just two full seasons since then, finishing in the top 10 four times. In 2024, Castroneves raced just three times, and one of those was a 20^th-place run in the Indy 500.

Despite his age, Castroneves has been known to rise to the occasion and should be considered in your Indy 500 sleeper picks!